Ghost Rider: Rogue Hunt chp4
by we-bears-babygirl
Summary: Srry guys that it's all broken up like this...i didn't know that you could do multiple chapters I gotta figure that out. Anyway, Riley meets Blackheart for the first time and he tells her why he's still alive...


_Screeching. Nails-on-a-challkboard-God-awful screeching. _The sound kept ringing in and out of my head. _Strong, black and white, arms lifting me as if I was weightless. The skin was cold, so cold. There was no heartbeat in the chest. _I remember that. _Slashes of crimson all over the white. Blood, and a lot of it. And pain. Stinging, dull, throbbing, agonizing. _I remember my last thought being, _Hope no one steals the car._ Black.

The first thing I was aware of was the sound of rythmic sawing. Then grunts and labored breathing. Next was the ache in my head. I groaned and the sawing stopped. The silence alleviated the ache to a bearable level. I was lying on hard ground, almost like cement, but not quite. A simple rubber mat was between me and the ground, probably more for keeping me off the cold stone than for comfort. I still haven't opened my eyes. I knew it wasn't Johnny that saved me. If it was Johnny, my heart wouldn't be pounding in my chest and the hairs on the back of my neck wouldn't be standing on end. Whatever it was that saved me it used to be evil, or still is. The thought made my heart pound faster.

"Calm, Ghost Rider. I no longer harm the minions of my father." There was a racket of metal clinking together as he put away the saw. "I merely took you away to make sure you survived and are well enough to return to your mentor." His footsteps thunked against the floor as he drew closer. I heard water slosh and jumped when the sound of metal hit the floor inches away from me. The air around me swirled as whoever he was kneel beside me. "Can you open your eyes?" My throat was dry, too dry to speak. I shook my head. "Can you try? Shall I turn down the light?" I nodded my head. I heard him walk away and the lights in the room dimmed down. It was no longer stabbing through my eyelids. I inched them open, ready to close them back if needed. I fixed my eyesight on his steel-toed boot, waiting while my vision faded in and out. He sat there patiently while I blinked and squinted. "Are you okay now?" I nodded again. "Look up so that I may check." My sight traveled up the leg of his black jeans, up past his torso, dressed in a white t-shirt, still covered in blood, and up to his neck. I stopped. Something inside of me was afraid to look further. "May you look in my eyes, Ghost Rider?" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I waited until I knew his eyes would be the first thing I would see before opening. My heart stopped. His eyes were a deep indigo with violent slices of emerald green, but it was weird because he also had flakes of silver inside the pupil. His eyes brought words to my mind like _clean_ and _newborn._

He froze, too. It took him a couple a times before he could speak, "No damage. You are fine." I took in the rest of this beautiful stranger. His skin was alabaster, almost whiter than the shirt he was wearing. Down his arms and across his chest were arcane symbols, all connected and flowing across his skin, along with some tribal markings. They all summed up into three basic words: _Satan, evil, Demon!_ My skin turned to ice as the realization dawned on me. Next thing I knew, I was across the room putting a workbench and distance between us. He stood, not suprised by my fear.

"You're Blackheart." He sighed and nodded. I threw myself against the wall behind me, feeling along the paneling for a door.

"If you wish to escape, the door is over there." He gestured to a sliding door on the far side of the room. Before I reached it, he spoke again. "I told you, Ghost Rider, I don't seek to harm you. Though, judging by your knowledge of me and your fear, you cannot say the same. My father wishes you to kill me, does he not?" The calm certainty in his voice made me stop. "That is why you sought out Johnny Blaze."

"Actually, I'm supposed to kill him, too. The two of you for my soul."

"You sold your soul for family?" I nodded. "That is why the two of you are drawn to each other."

"We ride together, that's it. He thought he killed you, so he agreed to let me help him with his vendetta." The demon took a small step toward me, then took another when I didn't back away.

"I thought he killed me as well." Another step. "But when I awoke, I only realized he cleansed me of my inner 'demons', if you will." Another step. "I woke with a conscience and a hatred for my father." Another. "I have been living here, hidden, and working past my sins through manual labor and goodwill." Another. "That wooden object. The one right there? I am thinking of making it into a large boat, so that I may sail it through the major oceans of this world." Another. "Humans often think of it as a healing experience. I am still immortal, so I wish to try it." He took another. Now he was a few feet away from me. He held his hands out by his sides, to show he was unarmed. "I have been reborn to a second chance."

"So, I guess killing you doesn't really serve anyone's concerns, but-"

"My father's. He knows what the Penance Stare has done to me, and he wants me killed before I find the will to rise against him. Same with Johnny Blaze. He kills all who stand against him." He took a final large step, coming within inches of touching. He brought his hand up to touch my cheek. My skin tingled and burned where his cold hand touched. He lowered his eyes to my level. "Your eyes, Ghost Rider. I cannot look away from them. Such fire. Not the fires of Hell, but of God. Free will."

"Your eyes are pretty, too." Pretty?! Seriously?! He smiled.

"They are just a window to my soul. They are cleansed. My future sins will darken them again over time. Yours is troubled. Captive." It was hard to look away, but I did it. I didn't move away from him. I couldn't. His touch had me almost glued to the ground. "Sins are in your future, too, little demon-slayer."

"What makes you say that?" I turned back to him. His face was even closer than before. Our lips were a breath apart.

"Because, Ghost Rider, it is just as sinful for a slayer to love the demon as it is for a demon to love its slayer." We kissed. I have no clue who pressed lips to who, but before I knew it, his lips were on mine and my nerves were on fire. He pressed me between his body and a wall, keeping me as close to him as possible. My blood was pounding through my veins and my head was swimming. It was almost like I was drowning, but I couldn't pull away. My skin was burning. I heard him groan and he pulled away, collapsing on the floor. He covered his face with his hands, almost growling. I kneeled in front of him, holding my hands over his crouched form.

"Blackheart?"

"_No!_" He snarled. He glared at me. His eyes had turned cold and black, completey lifeless. Almost as soon as it was there, it was gone. Coming back to the multi-faceted colors, his eyes softened. "Please, I hate the name. It implies evil. I am not that." His body sagged to the ground, until he lay on the ground. "I swear that I am not. I cannot be." I took his hand and held it between both of mine. He clutched my hand tightly, so tight that it hurt.

"What is your name? I know you weren't born to be called that."

"Marsidgonius, son of Mephistopheles." He shook his head. "Not that either. I wish to not be associated with my father."

"Then what do I call you?"

"Damion, please."

His breathing slowed and his grip relaxed. He stood up and helped me to my feet. "Come, Riley, we must find your mentor."

"Alright, Damion." He smiled slightly at the name.

"If I did not know any better, I would say my heart started beating again." He led me to the car. Adrenaline rushed through me. I can't wait to show this demon what this 'slayer' can do.


End file.
